An op-ed in the February 2011 edition of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN laments recent increases in pertussis, or whooping cough, in California, suggesting the trend may result from parents’ growing reluctance to permit their children to receive vaccines. For those of us not familiar – yet – with whooping cough, the magazine describes the disease as “known…for the distinctive sound its victims make when gasping for air after a fit of paroxysmal coughing…”
There’s nothing wrong with a good measure of healthy skepticism about even long-proven medical treatments and procedures. But why do so many people favor fear over solid science and their own pediatrician’s recommendations?
Here’s one reason: When the television icon of the past quarter century and her Hollywood autism spokesmodel say it’s so, many parents can’t help but agree there must be some, any kind of connection. After all, goes the TV wisdom, a child is perfectly healthy before the vaccine, and just look now.
Despite the unquestioned effectiveness of vaccines in preventing serious, life-threatening disease, plus the total absence of evidence to connect autism spectrum disorder with child vaccinations, our very own Oprah! still hosts the Jenny McCarthy web page promulgating the myth. The frustrating truth is, scientists still don’t know what causes autism. But they know with certainty that vaccines don’t.
Parents everywhere need to be educated or reminded about the proven benefit and safety of vaccines, as well as the perils of foregoing immunization, by authorities with national platforms, in addition to what they hear from their pediatricians. What audiences coast-to-coast need is for otherwise responsible public media figures such as Oprah Winfrey to stop associating autism with vaccines, given the compelling evidence and for the sake of human decency. If she really cared about babies and moms everywhere, Oprah would endorse vaccines tomorrow.
Beyond the entertainment world, where’s the general outrage among scientists in this country? Where’s a move to flush out the vaccines/autism myth? We need a much heavier dose of rational thought on blogs, social media, good old newspapers and the airwaves. Finally, and most important, Federal and state government public health leadership should much more aggressively reach out to publicly blunt the non-science, self-serving scare tactics that discourage parents from protecting their children from serious diseases through scientifically and clinically proven safe and effective immunizations.
Oprah! Now that you’re connected with Discovery Health, a well-respected, science-based enterprise, you would serve your audience far better to turn Ms. McCarthy loose, on her own.